G. Donizetti _ Anna Bolena * Netrebko MET Opening Night Sept 26 2011 / glimpses

No, this is not Netrebko singing lol

Metropolitan Oprera 'Anna Bolena' star Anna Netrebko has a voice to die for

BY Joe Dziemianowicz
DAILY NEWS THEATER CRITIC

Anna Netrebko (r.) in a scene with Tamara Mumford in the Metropolitan Opera's 'Anna Bolena.'
Marrying a king can literally be a dicey proposition.

On Monday night, Metropolitan Opera audiences got a rapturous reminder of that when Anna Netrebko premiered as Henry VIII's doomed second wife in Donizetti's "Anna Bolena."

Thanks to the Italian composer's gorgeous melodies, Anna's last days, while pocked by tumult and a date with the executioner, sounded sublime.

The evening launched the company's season and lured the starry likes of domestic goddess Martha Stewart, actress Christine Baranski and newsman Chuck Scarborough.

It also marked the first time Donizetti's 1830 masterwork drawn from 16th-century English history has been performed on the storied stage at Lincoln Center.

Better late than never, as it's said.

Netrebko, 40, a Russian soprano who made her Met debut in 2002 in "War and Peace," proved up to the task of the killer regal role. She took Anna from despair to the depths of madness brought on by the unfaithful Henry. Betrayal by trusted friend Jane Seymour doesn't help.

Netrebko's voice was ripe, graceCoriglianoful and full-bodied. She was at her strongest when Anna's grip on reality was at its weakest.

An 11th-hour aria in which a delirious Anna recalls happier times brought such thunderous applause that Netrebko seemed to break character and flashed a smile.

No matter. This diva had earned it.

She's not alone, either. Mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova brings a wonderfully robust voice and characterization to Giovanna (Jane Seymour), Anna's trusted friend whom Henry now adores.

As the passionate and pitiless monarch, Ildar Abdrazakov's booming bass seamlessly turns from warm to cold as he conveys his love for Jane and hatred for Anna.

Also impressive is tenor Stephen Costello, blazing precision as Anna's ex-lover and possible husband. (History blurs.)

Mezzo Tamara Mumford's big, plummy voice gets showcased as Smeaton, the youthful page whose real infatuation with Anna is, ironically, what seals her death sentence.

David McVicar's production is ever-compelling, even as the pacing sags a bit midway through the second act. The lag comes perhaps in anticipation of the final mad scene.

The beauty of the production design is in its spareness. Interiors and exteriors are bathed in dull grays and are as empty and austere as an unloving heart.

A few flashes of color do come, and when they do they're in red: Anna's coat, a bed, a curtain that cascades like a waterfall of blood after her rendezvous with death and, in a canny touch, Anna's daughter Elizabeth's hair.

Anna effortlessly hoists the girl up in her arms, befitting Netrebko's strong take on the queen. Her Anna doesn't wring her hands or avert her eyes like a cowed victim. She moves with defiant energy and hawk-eyes Henry with a steely gaze.

And she moves us with her silky voice.

Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center through Oct. 28. Tickets: $25-$440

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Donizetti
• Netrebko
• Bolena
• Boleyn
• Romani
• Henry
• VIII
• Pasta
• Stupenda
• Divina
• Sutherland
• Callas
• Caballé
• Gencer
• Sills

[Remalia19]

Joan Sutherland <3

[Operaphile]

Yes, it will be interesting to see how she grows with the role, but I doubt as good as Dame Joan (singing this) was.